"I will further lower my profile and communicate more with the people in a more flexible manner, starting with me. ”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shows modesty at a state meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Palace in Seoul on April 16, 2024.
He said that in the past two years in office, he has been trying to do things for the people and the country, but he has failed to meet the expectations of the people.
On April 11, the results of the parliamentary election were announced, and Yoon's ruling People's Power Party lost 108 seats to the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) with 192 seats.
Soon, Prime Minister Han Duck-so verbally offered his resignation to Yoon Suk-yeol, and the president's aides, including the head of the presidential secretary's office and the director of the policy office, also expressed their intention to resign. In addition, Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People's Power Party, also resigned due to the fiasco of his party.
"Han Deok-so's verbal resignation will not necessarily be accepted by Yoon Suk-yeol. Li Jiacheng, an associate professor at the School of International Economics and Politics of Liaoning University and an expert on the Korean Peninsula, believes that due to the difficulties of the ruling party in the past two years, many vicious incidents have occurred in China, similar to South Korea's Minister of Health and Welfare and Minister of Administration and Security.
Since April, Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating has been sluggish. On April 15, a survey by Realmeter, a South Korean polling agency, found that President Yoon Suk-yeol's policy approval rate was 32.6%, and the negative rating was 63.6%.
South Korean public opinion believes that Yoon Suk-yeol urgently needs to come up with special countermeasures to bring about a "qualitative change" in the relations between the ruling and opposition parties, so that he can change the pattern of "the ruling party and the opposition party" in the next three years.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, center, checks the price of green onions at a supermarket in Seoul, South Korea, March 18, 2024. Photo/Visual China
"Asa Ono Dai"
On April 11, the day the results of the parliamentary election were announced, Yoon Suk-yeol had no other travel itinerary, and he sat at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan, to watch the live broadcast of the vote.
The data of "192 seats for the opposition party and 108 seats for the ruling party" disappointed Yoon Suk-yeol.
The National Assembly of South Korea is the legislature of South Korea, and elections are held every four years. There are 300 seats in the current National Assembly election. If the ruling party holds a majority of seats, the president can avoid a situation in which "the government is small and the country is big" and has a greater legislative advantage.
In order to alleviate the embarrassing situation, many of Yoon Suk-yeol's cabinet members resigned.
"Collective resignation is a common practice for South Korean political parties to lose elections, and it reflects both the ruling party's posture that it is being 'judged' by the people, and the party's responsibility for Yoon Suk-yeol and the prevention of infighting. Li Jiacheng told Southern Weekend.
According to the results of the regional elections in South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party, won 99 seats out of 122 seats in the Seoul metropolitan area, while the Democratic Party of Korea won 21 of the 28 seats in the Chungcheong region in central Korea. In Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam and other places where competition is fierce, the ruling National Power Party won 34 of the 40 seats.
"The traditional vote bases of the People's Power Party and the Democratic Party of Japan have not changed, and it is difficult for lawmakers to change their base of voters through their individual efforts. Li Jiacheng said.
Lee Jae-myung (second from right), leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and others watch an exit poll in Seoul, South Korea, April 10, 2024. Photo/Visual China
In recent years, the ruling party has rarely won less than 120 seats in parliamentary elections. In 2020, Moon Jae-in won 180 seats in the 21st National Assembly election when he faced challenges from the coronavirus and high housing prices in Seoul, in 2016, the then ruling New National Party (renamed the Liberty Korea Party in 2017) won 122 seats, and in 2012, when Lee Myung-bak was suspected of corruption, the ruling New National Party won 152 seats.
The current round of elections also reflects the ups and downs of South Korean politics.
Former South Korean Minister of Justice Cho Kook and former National Power Party representative Lee Jun-seok have both become "dark horses" in the election. A month ago, Cao Guo founded a new party, the Motherland Reform Party, which he led to win 12 seats in parliament.
In the past, Cao Guo was not low in popularity within the Democratic Party of Korea, coupled with his eloquence and good image, and the new party he founded won the support of voters in the middle. According to Lee Kar-sung's analysis, Lee Jun-seok is a "new star" in South Korean politics and has rapidly accumulated popularity in recent years. After leaving Yoon Suk-yeol's National Power Party, Lee Jun-seok founded the New Reform Party and successfully won a seat in the National Assembly.
Lee Kar-sung mentioned that the New Future Party, founded by Lee Nak-yeon, a non-Ming faction within the Democratic Party of Korea (not Lee Jae-myung's faction), won only one seat, and Lee Nak-yeon himself failed to win a seat in the legislature.
And the only female presidential candidate in the 2022 South Korean general election, Shim Sang-woo, announced her retirement from politics because she did not get a seat.
The "Judgment" of the Nation
In the Congressional election, which had a total turnout of 67 percent, the word "judgment day" was often used on political banners, campaign slogans and in the daily conversations of voters.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, modestly said after his victory, "The general election is not a victory for the Democratic Party of Korea, but a victory for the great people." ”
South Korean public opinion criticized Yoon Suk-yeol for not being sensitive enough to the people's feelings when dealing with people's livelihood issues, and he did not explain the corruption scandal of his wife Kim Keon-hee. The progressive Hankyoreh Ilbo ridiculed Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon for "having no experience as a parliamentarian" and "not understanding politics."
In the eyes of former South Korean parliamentarian Yoo Seung-min, there are two reasons why "Yoon Suk-yeol has lost the hearts of the people": one is that the ruling government has failed in the past two years on people's livelihood and economic issues, and the other is that Yoon Suk-yeol, who came to power as an "impartial prosecutor", has let the people see more injustices.
Before the parliamentary election, Yoon Suk-yeol was caught in the "green onion controversy". In March 2024, when Yoon Suk-yeol visited a produce supermarket in Seoul, he commented that the price of a bundle of green onions at 875 won (equivalent to 4.6 yuan) was reasonable. Later, the outside world found out that the green onion was sold after government subsidies, and people could only buy a bundle of green onions for 3,000 won (equivalent to 16 yuan) in the supermarket.
Yoon Suk-yeol has been in power for more than two years, and South Korea is mired in inflation.
A number of South Koreans told Southern Weekend that daily foods such as green onions and apples are too expensive to buy. Mr. Lee, who recently visited South Korea, found that the price of apples had risen by 80 percent in a month.
High prices have caused most voters to protest on the streets with green onions, and even the Democratic Party of Korea has put on "green onions" hats to canvass for votes. At this time, South Korea's Central Election Commission issued a rule that voters could not enter polling stations with green onions.
South Korea's health care reform, which has lasted for more than a month, has also become a stumbling block in the ruling party's election. In early February 2024, the Yoon Suk-yeol government announced a plan to expand medical reform, planning to recruit 2,000 more medical students by 2025. South Korea's medical community believes that the expansion of enrollment will not solve the shortage of medical personnel resources, and will also reduce the quality of teaching.
There have been a number of medical tragedies in South Korea due to the boycott of classes and clinics in the medical sector. On April 11, the day after the election results were announced, JoongAng Ilbo reported that a 50-year-old patient with acute heart disease had been transferred to Ulsan for surgery after five hours to be transferred to Ulsan for surgery because he could not find an operable hospital in Busan, but died six days after the operation. The patient's family recalled that at that time, all hospitals in Busan replied that there were no doctors.
"The South Korean government has not been able to communicate openly with the medical community about the expansion of the number of students. The medical profession accepts an increase of up to 500 medical students, while Yoon Suk-yeol is arrogant and does not communicate too much with the medical community. Li Jiacheng told Southern Weekend.
Under the impact of the green onion turmoil, medical reform and other problems, Yin Xiyue's "midterm examination" defeat is doomed. With Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, disappearing for months, and Yoon Suk-yeol's refusal to admit that his relatives had accepted bribes, South Korean public opinion has gradually developed a "crisis of confidence" in the People's Power Party.
"This parliamentary election is the most influenced by the 'regime trial theory' in history. Kim Yoon-chol, a professor at the College of Humanities at Kyung Hee University in South Korea, said it reflected the attitude of the people who wanted to teach a lesson to the incompetent regime.
Yoon Suk-yeol entered the era of "lame duck".
At this stage, Cao Guo, who is also a lawyer, is the most dissatisfied with Yin Xiyue. "The April parliamentary election is the election to try the Yoon Suk-yeol government!" During the election, Cho Kook shouted at Yoon Suk-yeol on behalf of the Motherland Reform Party, and he bluntly said that "Yoon Suk-yeol has three years left too long."
Revenge and partisan strife have long dominated South Korea's internal affairs. After the election, the opposition parties intended to launch a "special inspection" against the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
On April 11, after the ticket was opened, Cho Kook took party insiders to the more symbolic Seocho-dong in Seoul and confronted the Central District Prosecutor's Office of South Korea to call on the prosecutor to investigate "Kim Keon-hee's acceptance of luxury goods."
Cho Guo warned that if prosecutors do not act, he will work with the Democratic Party of Korea to promote the "Kim Keon-hee Comprehensive Special Prosecution Law" after the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.
Cho Kook (center), leader of the Fatherland Reform Party, and supporters march outside the office of South Korea's Supreme Prosecutor on April 11, 2024. Photo/Visual China
On the side of the Democratic Party of Korea, the party plans to introduce the "Colonel Tsai Special Prosecutor Law" on the death of officers and soldiers in the line of duty. In July 2023, a soldier of the South Korean Marine Corps died in the line of duty while carrying out a flood control mission. Lee Jong-sop, South Korea's defense minister at the time, was banned from leaving the country on suspicion of exerting pressure on military personnel investigating the case.
And in early March 2024, Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Lee Jong-sub as South Korea's ambassador to Australia to circumvent the investigation controversy. This move was opposed by the opposition parties, and it also laid a hidden danger for Yoon Suk-yeol himself. Twenty-five days later, Lee Jong-sub stepped down amid accusations.
The Korea Ilbo reported that if Yoon Suk-yeol falls into the black hole of the special prosecutor, he may become a lame duck in the future, that is, a politician who is in office but has lost political influence.
"The ruling party continues to face a big deal, and Yoon Suk-yeol's appointments, executive budget, and reforms over the next three years will be constrained by the National Assembly. According to Lee Kar-sung's analysis, once faced with a special prosecution case initiated by the opposition parties in the National Assembly and the establishment of a special prosecution team, Yoon Suk-yeol will fall into a passive situation.
Since taking office, Yoon has never met with Lee Jae-myung, even though there are calls within the party to "strengthen communication between the government and the opposition."
"Now (we) need to meet with the leaders of the opposition parties. Park Jung-hoon, the elected member of the ruling People's Power Party in Seoul Songpa, said in an interview that he called on party insiders to meet with Lee Jun-seok, Cho Kook and others as soon as possible. He believes that "if the People's Power Party does not take the initiative to communicate, Yoon Suk-yeol will be in a situation where there is no one to talk to."
Southern Weekly reporter Gu Yuebing
Editor-in-charge: Yao Yijiang